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Designs That Stink
Given the fact that the (European) medieval church left a largely unsurpassed architectural legacy, the comparison between the medieval church and the modern cinema in all its manifestations may not distribute altogether evenly. Granted, the act of "worship" (and patronage) emanating from modern cinema's public (masses) compares well with religious fervor, however, the legacy of this "adoration" falls largely in the bank accounts of movie executives--essentially the medium that increasingly controls more and more of our culture is unprovisionally paid by the masses to do so--and those execs love that fact that people continue to unobjectionably pay more and more. Perhaps a comparison between modern cinema and ancient paganism provides a more apt equation.
Ephemeral City
An image of the Barry Le Va exhibition just at the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art is on the cover of this month's Art in America. I found Le Va's work and approach especially interesting because he began his college education studying architecture, but after a year switched over to studying art/sculpture. His knowledge and dexterity of/in draftsmanship remains an integral component of his operations. It's indeed interesting to see how draftsmanship even often informs his work.It's like the architect in Le Va is much more than just ephemerally there. There's a worthwhile article--"Refiguring Barry Le Va"--by Nancy Princenthal inside the magazine as well.
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Quondam © 2009.04.27 |